Tears were flowing on Centre Court on Thursday night as Andy Murray paid an emotional tribute to his family with a special message for his ‘amazing’ wife Kim.
Andy and Jamie Murray were unable to get the result they wanted on Centre Court as they lost their men’s doubles match.
But that didn’t take anything away from the occasion with Andy given a special tribute on court with Sue Barker making a surprise appearance.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic featured in a montage video looking back at Andy’s illustrious career.
Andy Murray held back tears while talking about his wife
BBC
Then it was the three-time major champion’s turn to take the microphone on Centre Court where he had to fight back tears while speaking about his family.
He first paid tribute to his mum and dad, Judy and William, for their role in helping lay the foundations for him to pursue a career in tennis.
“Mum and dad gave us amazing support when we were little and allowing us to pursue our dreams,” he said.
“Jamie left home to go to train when he was 12 and then he moved over to Paris and I left to go over to Spain and I know now having children how – I don’t like them being away for like a day so allowing us to train abroad and pursue our dreams, we couldn’t have done that without their support so thank you mum and dad.”
And there was plenty of tears and laughter when Andy switched his focus to his wife Kim while sharing a story on how they first met.
“I better say something about my wife or I’ll get in trouble, but this is probably gonna be the hard part,” Murray joked.
“We met for the first time when we were 18 years old. Kim’s dad is a tennis coach and we met over in New York for the first time and went out for dinner there at the US Open.
“I choked a little bit the first time we went out. I walked her home to her hotel and I asked her for her email address.
Andy Murray also paid tribute to his parents
REUTERS
“I don’t think that’s a normal thing to do [laughs].
“The first match she came to watch with me live was at the US Open and I vomited twice in that match – once right in front of where she was sitting.
“I then stood up, vomited on my opponent’s racket bag and she still seemed to like me so I knew she was a keeper after that.”
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Andy Murray’s family were in the box watching
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He added: “She’s been an amazing support to me, to my whole family. She is the best mum.
“Murray then had to quickly stop as he choked up and tried to hold back the tears before making one final joke.
“Unfortunately, in a couple of months, she’s going to have to see me every day.
“Things might be rocky for a little while but hopefully we can stick it out together and looking forward to the rest of our lives.”